Quinn Family Romance Collection

by Cami Checketts

  Mack knew far too much about the Metcalf and Udy families. It couldn’t really be considered stalking as they’d garnered a lot of media attention last spring when Hyde and Lily had a turbulent love story splashed all over the tabloids. Back then he’d found all the stories interesting about Lily’s large family and how her six younger siblings had all fallen in love with Hyde. The first time Mack saw Lily’s sister, Sariah, in person the stories went from interesting to fascinating.

  It had been the first game of pre-season, August fifth to be exact, and Mack had run on the field with the team, excited for the start of his second year with the Patriots. As he neared his sideline, he’d glanced up at the stands, noticed Sariah, and plowed into the backup quarterback, Tate Campbell. Luckily, he didn’t knock Tate to the ground. After Mack apologized, he focused back on Sariah. She was an unreal beauty with olive skin, deep brown eyes, high cheekbones, pouty lips, and long, dark hair. Her thick hair swooped across her forehead, covering the right side of her face and neck, her right eye barely visible through the cloud of hair. The look made her even more exotic and appealing to him.

  She’d met his gaze that first day and they simply stared at each other. A silent communication happened between them that he’d never experienced before and for some insane reason he felt like he could see past her beauty to a tender, yet funny woman who always put other’s needs before her own. He’d even gone so far as to imagine she could see past his thick muscles, “pretty boy” face—his brothers’ words not his—and shyness, to his heart that needed someone like her to understand him.

  The communication came to an abrupt halt when someone nudged him and muttered, “The national anthem, dude.”

  Mack had whirled around to salute the flag. Since that day, before and after games he was staring at the stands, and quite often she’d be looking his way also. He hadn’t dared approach her in the past three months but today was Christmas and he’d decided his gift to himself was to get brave enough to say hello. It was a small step, but he had to start somewhere.

  Now, as he waited directly below Sariah, praying she’d glance his way, he started second-guessing himself. Just because he’d fallen hopelessly for her didn’t mean she even knew who he was. Maybe all these times he thought she’d been tangling glances with him, she’d truly just been watching the game, or worse, she’d been staring at Tate Campbell or somebody like that who could flirt with a woman like her without their tongue swelling in their mouth.

  Sariah finished helping Hyde’s mom. The family was still focused on Hyde and Sariah’s little brother, Josh, as he exclaimed over the game. Sariah’s gaze traveled around the team slowly. Was she searching for him? Mack wanted to yell, “I’m here! Look down.” But he didn’t. He was the biggest chicken he knew.

  Sariah finally seemed to sense him staring at her and her eyes met his. Mack tried to sputter out a hello, but he couldn’t have said anything to save even his mama’s life.

  A slow grin curved Sariah’s full lips and her deep brown eyes sparkled at him. She pulled her hair forward on the right side, twisting it in front of her neck. Mack was panting for air worse than when they made him run sprints at practice. He savored every second of the connection, knowing it couldn’t last. He’d never gotten this close to her, but he’d watched her after every home game of the season. She’d head up the stairs with her sister and Hyde’s mom soon and he’d be left watching her go, like always.

  Instead of turning away she stepped right up to the railing, leaned over, and reached her hand down, still giving him that beautiful and inviting smile. Mack’s heart leapt. He felt like a loyal knight who might get the opportunity to touch the beautiful princess’ hand after winning the tournament.

  Usually, Mack was light and fast on his feet, even with his large size. Right now, he lumbered forward, his size fourteen feet felt like blocks of cement, and all he wanted was to get close to her faster.

  Finally, he reached the wall and luckily, he was tall enough he didn’t have to reach up very far to wrap his hand around her delicate fingers. A zing of awareness and warmth shot through him. His brain tried to keep up with his heart but his heart was singing too loud, Sariah Udy is holding my hand!

  She smiled down at him. The smile was sweet and welcoming and all the oxygen rushed out of Mack’s body. He could face down the most vicious defenders on the field, but he had no clue how to react to holding Sariah’s hand and having her smile at him like that.

  The roaring crowd around them disappeared as they focused on each other. Mack knew right at that moment—he was in serious like and he had to do something about it. He’d dated different girls throughout high school, college, and the past couple of years women had chased him relentlessly, but he’d never felt a connection like this. This had to be the right woman for him.

  “Hi,” she said softly.

  “Hi,” Mack dumbly repeated. He squeezed her hand, he hoped gently, and searched his muddled brain for something poetic to say. His brother, Kaleb, was a professional country singer and had all manner of beautiful things to say or sing. His brother, Colt, was a professional woman-magnet and had trained Mack relentlessly on how to give a woman a smoldering look or say the right phrase to draw her in.

  Mack prayed for inspiration and finally muttered, “Hi, pretty girl.”

  His face flamed red. What had he just said? He probably sounded like a creeper or something. That line had worked on his older brothers’ girlfriends when Mack was eight and cute. Now he was twenty-five and hopefully there was nothing cute about him.

  Sariah let out a soft chuckle and then tugged her hand free, waved quickly to him, and hurried to her family. Mack watched them all walk away. Her dad gave him a backwards, concerned glance, but Sariah didn’t turn around or acknowledge him again.

  Mack felt like he’d been slugged in the abdomen by his brother, Griff, the ex-navy SEAL who could take down any man. His big chance and he’d messed it all up. Hi, pretty girl? Sheesh, he was an idiot.

  Most of the partying in the stadium had calmed and people were flowing out of the stands. A lot of his teammates were gone to the locker room. He trudged that direction. As he entered the double doors, he smiled at the party that was going on—singing, joking, back-slapping. He walked through, receiving and handing out congrats and inflated praise.

  Then he saw Hyde and his footsteps faltered. Did he dare ask for Sariah’s number? How did you tell a guy his future sister-in-law was destined to love you? No way. Too gutsy.

  He wussed out and went to his own locker. He took his time showering and chatting with teammates. He headed out of the locker room, ready to find his family and fly to Ryder’s game tonight then on to Newport, Rhode Island, for a long-awaited family Christmas party tomorrow morning. He realized he was walking side by side with none other than Hyde Metcalf. It was a sign and he couldn’t ignore it.

  “Hey, man.” He tilted his chin up. “Great game.”

  “Thanks.” Hyde clapped him on the shoulder. “We couldn’t have done it without you. You’re a beast out there.”

  “Thanks.” It was so like Hyde to shift the praise and not get caught up on himself. They were approaching the locker room door and Mack knew it was now or never. He put his hand on Hyde’s forearm and stopped walking. Hyde turned to him with a questioning glance. Mack shoved a hand through his hair. “Hey, um, your sister-in-law … Sariah?”

  “Yeah?” Hyde’s glance wasn’t as friendly now. Suspicious, wary, concerned.

  “You couldn’t, um, give me her number?” Why was everything coming out as a question? He was a Quinn. His brothers, sister, and mama would all disown him if they found out about his wimpy thoughts and actions tonight.

  Hyde looked him over. “I can’t just give out Sariah’s number.”

  “Oh.” Disappointment stabbed him. “Could you see if she wants my number?”

  “How do you know Sariah?”

  “I … I don’t. But she touched my hand tonight.” It was official. He was the most
pathetic man in the world and he was revealing it all to Hyde Metcalf. He was going to get laughed off the field at their next practice.

  Hyde’s eyebrows arched. “I’m sorry, Mack. You seem like a nice guy, but I don’t know you that well, and Sariah is … special to all of us. An angel really, with a funny sense of humor.” Hyde smiled briefly.

  Mack knew that was true simply from looking at her. Pure goodness, light, and humor radiated from her.

  “She lives in Denver,” Hyde continued. “So, it really wouldn’t work. Sorry, man.” With that he pushed through the locker room door and was gone.

  Mack sat there staring at the door until some other players came up behind him and he walked woodenly through to avoid explaining why he hadn’t moved—he’d just had all his hopes doused in fire retardant and they would never burn bright again.

  Chapter Two

  Sariah Udy’s job of being Hyde’s mom’s companion was absolutely perfect for her. She was able to drive into Denver every weekday for her schooling as a massage therapist and nights and weekends she spent time with Teresa. Quite often Hyde and Lily or other members of her family would be with them. She also loved Teresa’s neighbor and spicy friend, Allie. It was a great arrangement, made even better by the fact that they flew to most Patriot games and she got the opportunity to watch Mack Quinn play football.

  Mack Quinn. She loved to simply watch the man move. He was massive and not one spare inch of him was fat. Most people hardly noticed what the offensive line did at a football game. Sariah couldn’t pull her eyes off the offensive line. In her mind, Mack was poetry in motion and he never missed a block or other assignment.

  Then there were the times before and after games when he met her gaze, his blue eyes warm and completely focused on her. She lived for those moments. On Christmas Day he’d come over to the sidelines and he’d not only wrapped his hand around hers he’d said, “Hi, pretty girl”. It was the most beautiful moment of her life.

  Sariah knew nothing could come of her obsession. Someone with her deformity could never be with someone perfect, rich, and famous like Mack Quinn. She’d learned that lesson all too well from her high school boyfriend. The fact that she’d never do more than stare at Mack hurt, but she didn’t let herself dwell on it. She’d made a happy life for herself by simply putting a smile on her face each day and making it a great day. Falling in that campfire at five-years-old may have deformed her right ear and left her with horrific-looking scar tissue on her neck, shoulder, and upper arm, but it couldn’t take her down.

  Today was the last playoff game before the Super Bowl. The entire family was in Los Angeles, California, cheering for Hyde. He and Lily’s dream wedding was going to happen in March, after the season ended, and Sariah couldn’t be happier for them. If only she could have a dream one day, a dream like Mack Quinn. He seemed so kind, despite his strength. He looked just like Thor to her, a bigger and more approachable Thor. Sadly, he wasn’t attainable for her. His family were all superstars—a country singer, two professional football players, a fitness guru, a highly-decorated ex-Navy SEAL, and a media darling. The media would destroy Mack if he dated someone with Sariah’s deformity. She knew that from personal experience. It had been hard enough on Lily and Hyde to overcome the media’s scrutiny of the discrepancy in their financial stations. It would be even worse for her. As if a man like Mack could look past her mottled skin.

  She touched her neck self-consciously, making sure the hair covered her scars, even as she rolled her eyes at herself. It was silly to even speculate. Since Christmas Day, almost a month ago, when Mack had actually approached her, stolen her breath away when he wrapped his strong hand around hers, and called her “pretty girl”, he hadn’t made any other move. He still caught her gaze before or after games but he kept his distance. She tucked her hair tighter against the right side of her face and around her neck. Had he seen her puckered skin when he got close? He hadn’t recoiled in disgust so she didn’t think so. Something was keeping him away from her. Maybe it was because she’d only been capable of saying hi when confronted with his perfect smile up close and personal.

  Focusing on the game, she waited for even a simple glance. The smells of pizza, popcorn, and cotton candy floated around her. She loved football and the atmosphere. Mack played brilliantly and every time the offense ran off the field, she studied him and she could’ve sworn he glanced her direction a few times, but she could just be imagining it. The game ended with Georgia beating Washington 21 to 14. She cheered along with everybody and she waited and watched for Mack to look her way. Hyde ran over to them but he didn’t launch himself over the barrier like he had on Christmas. Lily bent over and he squeezed her hands and they talked excitedly.

  Teresa watched them with a satisfied smile on her face. The future in-law relationship had a rocky start last spring, but almost a year later and everybody adored each other. Sariah loved Hyde and Teresa and really appreciated how good they were to her. Five more months and she’d be a licensed massage therapist. Teresa and Hyde had both expressed that they hoped she’d stay in the apartment above the garage at Teresa’s Golden, Colorado house as long as she wanted. The apartment was bigger than her family home in Georgetown, Colorado and nicer than any place she’d been in. She couldn’t see any reason not to continue the arrangement.

  Her eyes strayed from her happy sister to find Mack Quinn. He was in a cluster of players about thirty feet away from her. He was chatting with all of them but his gaze was pinned on Sariah. She tucked her hair tighter to her face and neck. It was a nervous gesture she really needed to quit, but she wanted this man to get to know her before he was repulsed by her scars and ran away. She was so lame. He couldn’t run away when he’d never run to her.

  Mack excused himself from the group and walked her direction. Her heart thudded quicker and quicker. Was he finally going to approach her again? It was what she’d been dreaming of. This time she had to be braver than to just offer her hand and say hi. How old-fashioned was that? Guaranteed, Mack Quinn had gorgeous women pushing themselves at him every day and here she offered her hand to him? No matter how dumb it may have been, she’d re-lived the feel of his hand surrounding hers and loved each replay.

  He kept coming, his gaze trained on her. Her legs were weak and she edged closer to the barrier in front of her and leaned against it. With every footstep that brought him closer, her heart seemed to be shouting, Mack, Mack, Mack. His blue eyes were bluer than the Colorado sky in the summertime, and even though his blond curls were matted to his head from his helmet, he looked unreal handsome. She could’ve sworn that he looked nervous. That couldn’t be. He was an enigma and she was a dirt-poor girl from nowhere.

  His steps slowed as he approached her and his gaze darted to Hyde and Lily. Sariah focused on them also but they were so full of each other they wouldn’t have noticed if a bomb dropped in the stadium. The rest of her family was also focused on Hyde and Lily. Teresa was staring at Mack though, and she lifted a perfectly-formed eyebrow at Sariah. Sariah smiled at her before refocusing on Mack. He was right below her now, just like he’d been on Christmas Day.

  She leaned over the barrier but didn’t put her hand out. This time she was going to try to at least talk to him. “You pummeled them,” she said.

  “We do our best.” He pushed a hand through his hair. His voice was low and appealing but on the quiet side. She wanted to know so much about him. She wanted to listen to him talk for hours.

  “It’s an impressive best.”

  He smiled. “Gotta protect your brother-in-law.”

  “Aw, that’s sweet. He hasn’t won the role of brother-in-law yet, but he keeps hoping.” She grinned at Hyde, Lily, and Teresa, who were all watching them now, along with her parents and siblings. Embarrassment filtered in. Would her family and Hyde’s be thinking, what is sweet little Sariah doing talking to the big, bad football player? She could never hope to date someone like him.

  “We’ll see if he gets my stamp of approval befor
e March.” She tried to act confident and not reveal to Mack yet how pathetic she was.

  Mack chuckled softly and it was the most glorious sound. Sariah wanted to help him make that sound every day of his life. Whew, she was racing ahead of herself.

  The rest of her family and Teresa were looking at the two of them with interested smiles. Well, except for her dad, but he was crazy overprotective of her since her publicized heartbreak and humiliation almost four years ago. Hyde looked … ticked. She tried to remember if she’d ever seen Hyde ticked. Even last year when Lily had been livid with him when she blamed him for Josh and Caleb’s accident and she’d slapped him across the face at the hospital, he’d responded humbly. Did he not appreciate Sariah teasing him? That made no sense, she always teased Hyde. He was the big brother she’d never had. She had plenty of younger brothers and they were great, but a fun-loving, bantering, and slightly overprotective big brother was amazing.

  Her brow wrinkled and she tugged at her hair. Had she said something wrong? Had she exposed her scars? She turned her right side slightly away from Mack just to make sure. Normally she would escape the situation, but this might be her one and only chance to talk to Mack Quinn. She had to be bold and stay in it. Then she could live on the memories of the interaction for a long, long time.

  “Hyde’s a good man, I’m sure he’ll get that stamp,” Mack said in his low, melodious tone.

  Sariah absolutely loved Mack’s brother Kaleb’s, country music. She felt like Mack’s voice was very similar to his brother. Wouldn’t it be glorious if she could talk him into singing?